Workers enjoy many legal rights outlined by various federal, state and local laws. However, these rights mean little if employees must suffer retaliation for exercising these rights. Luckily, many of these laws have special provisions that prevent workplace retaliation. Workplace retaliation is an adverse employment action against an applicant or employee that occurs in response …
Rarely will an employee have direct evidence of an employer’s unlawful behavior, such as discrimination or retaliation. This is particularly troublesome for employees when the employer files a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the employee’s lawsuit. Recognizing the challenge that employees face at this pretrial stage, courts have established a special burden-shifting standard to …
New Summary Judgment Standard for Retaliation Cases Read More »
If you believe your employer has discriminated against you because of a protected trait, such as a disability, you’re entitled to complain and report the discrimination. You can probably sue your employer too. What if your employer gets mad at you about your lawsuit or your complaint to human resources and fires you? You now …
Employer’s Revenge Lawsuits Are Not Considered Retaliation Read More »
Have questions about your potential legal case? Our Legal Leverage program has you covered! Deciding to have a sexual relationship with your boss is normally a bad idea. It can result in problems in the workplace, both with co-workers and with your supervisor, who may just be exploiting you. Things can go especially sour when …
If you have complained to management, the press, or a government agency about your employer’s unethical, illegal, or discriminatory acts, you may have some protection under the law as a whistleblower. Depending on the circumstances, if you suffer negative consequences because you’ve said or written such criticisms, your employer may have broken the law. One …
What Do I Need to Say to Be Protected as a Whistleblower? Read More »
Judges are busy people. As much as they may have wanted to make the world a better place when they started out, that impulse was probably beaten out of them after a few months on the bench. As a practical matter, the legal system is swamped with lawsuits, and the behavior at work that’s subject …
What’s the Difference Between an Awful Boss and One Who Legally Harasses You? Read More »
All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players. — William Shakespeare A courtroom is a stage where both parties tell their stories to the audience: the jury or the judge. Lawsuits have dialogue, drama, characters, conflict, and, at the end, a resolution. The parties are the key players, and the …
Many of us have work troubles. And most of these issues are simply an unfortunate fact of professional life and are not things that the law prohibits. But what do you do if the problems are the result of illegal behavior by your employer? In these situations, legal remedies are usually in place to help …
Retaliating Employer Liable for Emotional Distress Under the FLSA Read More »
You are a high-ranking executive in a major company. The company has honored you and promoted you to oversee some of its most profitable products and brands. You would think that if you witnessed illegal discrimination and called your colleagues out on it, things would be made right. Instead, you are fired. Luckily, there are …
Bayer Executive Fired After Standing Up for Pregnant Employee Read More »
In most work settings, letting your boss know that you are pregnant usually elicits congratulatory remarks and efforts to help make the pregnancy as easy and wonderful as possible. But for two women, becoming pregnant recently caused the termination of their employment. Here are their stories. Employee #1: Taylor King Nick’s Sports Grill is chain …